The Knick

S2 E12 You're No Rose

You're No Rose

After looking into the deaths of two stowaways at the South Street Seaport, Health Inspector Speight is found dead on the banks of the river.

Bertie and Algernon walk to work together, and Bertie reads an article aloud from Collier’s Weekly. The female reporter, Genevieve Everidge, went undercover as an addict to write an exposé on malpractice at a rehab facility. As the two men approach the Knick, they are shocked to see Gallinger and Thackery arriving at the hospital as well.

Thackery tells the board that he is ready to return as Chief of Surgery. The board members are willing to have Thackery back, but they stipulate he must get approval for all “degenerate” medications he takes from the dispensary and he must allow someone to regularly check his skin for needle marks. Thackery submits to these provisions, but he also has a request: he wants to conduct research on the causes and nature of addiction.

Cleary finds a lawyer, Mr. Whitting, to defend Harriet. He has no money to cover the legal fees, however, because his new ambulance keeps breaking down and he has to cover the cost of repairs. He also discovers that his wrestler is a useless fighter, as the previous manager had fixed a match to offload the guy on Cleary.

Thackery tells Lucy that they cannot continue their relationship. Devastated, Lucy reveals she has a professional reason for seeking him out: Barrow has asked her to examine Thackery for needle marks.

Cornelia returns to the Knick in a philanthropic capacity, joining the society ladies who are planning a fundraising ball for the new hospital construction. She runs into Bertie in the hall, who tells her about Inspector Speight’s demise. Cornelia’s suspicions are aroused when she learns from a Detective Shatterlee that Speight got drunk and fell into the river on the ferry home to Brooklyn. She recalls that Speight was a firm believer in temperance. Digging further, Cornelia meets with a Tammany Hall official and discovers that his office has been bribed to keep Speight’s case closed.

Bertie confronts Thackery and tenders his resignation from the Knick.

Arriving at work, Lucy discovers that her father, Preacher E.D. Elkins, has come to New York to check up on her.

Thackery discovers a fever cabinet has been installed at the Knick in his absence. He finds Algernon to inquire further into the purchase, catching the surgeon as he puts some drops into his eye. Algernon divulges his injury to Thackery and asks him to do an experimental surgery to drain the eye of excess fluid. Thackery agrees to do the surgery in secret.

Preparing for the surgery, Thackery hallucinates, seeing the young girl who died during the failed blood transfusion before he went away. In the operating theater, Thackery is distracted. Algernon notices his distress and stops the procedure.

Still shaken by the image of the girl and his failure to operate, Thackery goes to The Haymarket, a dancehall where he previously stuck up a flirtation with a girl named Kate. He notices needle marks on her arm. She tells him that heroin paired with cocaine make the best dancing partners.